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Long before TV and video games arrived in these rural towns, the movies provided both excitment and escape to other world and other times. Even the smallest, and most isolated communities might have an occasional opportunity of seeing a movie brought by a traveling business person. Some towns had movie theatres.Some theatres had old projectors with challenged sound and focus. But whatever the size or type of venue, whatever the quality, the movies were a major attraction. Cowboy and indian movies were the most common. The characters - Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Hopalong Cassidy, Shane - were heroes to kids everywhere and their cinematic exploits were integrated into the games kids played outside of school and in the summertime. For kids, movies represented the outside world. Whether they were realistic or not, in focus or not, they were a fun event not to be missed if possible.Cliff Bromley had an old show house right next door to us. Ten cents to go to the movies. We didn't get to very many. We went to the second showing because the second showing was ten cents. The first showing was a quarter. The third time it was only a nickle.
Madonna Byrne Hearn - Conche
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Gillard's movie theatreCirca 1969 - 1971
Englee, Newfoundland
Credits:Candace Cochrane
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Dressed in Sunday best visiting Canada Harbour.1950s
Canada Harbour
Credits:unknown
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My father had a movie theatre so I had the experience of going to movies twice a week. The theatre was in Englee but on Sundays we went by boat to Canada Harbour and sometimes showed movies. There was excitement and everybody came. When they saw us coming, they would come out of their houses with their chairs and stools. Father would put a big sheet or something on the wall. The first time he took a movie there, they all took their chairs and faced the projector because they didn't know how it would project on the screen.There were a lot of western movies. But I saw Gone With The Wind too. I saw a lot of Hopalong Cassidy movies. There was a gambit of movies really. Dad would order them from a supplier in Corner Brook.
Helga Gillard - Englee
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Girls in front of the Northern Glow Cafe.1968
Roddickton, NL
Credits:Candace Cochrane
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Ray Boyd had a movie theatre when I was a small girl. You could get into that movie house for 25 cents; but if we went down and helped Ray and his son and daughter pick up splits and cut wood for the fire, we got a free pass. The movies used to be largely cowboys and indians movies like Roy Rogers, Hop-a-Long Cassidy, and Dale Evans. We were all Dale Evans if you were a girl and Roy Rogers if you were a boy. I loved Dale Evans. I was sure I was just like her. I asked for a cowgirl outfit for Christmas but never got one. I always asked for a holster set too and never got one either. I always got a doll.Cindy Coates Musgrave - Main Brook
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Newhook's movie theatre and restaurant.1968
Roddickton, NL
Credits:Candace Cochrane
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When I was 15, I went to work in Newhook's movie theatre. They owned a grocery store too. The movies didn't starrt until about 8 o'clock. I would go out and collect for the movie. I wasn't allowed to actually go in and watch the movie because my mom was from the Pentacostal Church. Watching movies was a sin at that time so I was not allowed to watch movies. When all the money was collected, then there would be what we called the chapter, the shorts, that they'd run before the movie so that everybody'd get in and they wouldn't miss the beginning of the movie. When the movie started, I'd go back and take care of the restaurant. I prepared fries and stuff for when the movie would get out. That was my summer job.Joan Weir Kinden - Roddickton
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A typical school portrait.1960s
Main Brook, NL
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We were highly influenced by American movies. There was a little theatre here in Main Brook. We used to see the old American beach party movies - Frankie Avalon and Annette. This was a world we had neve experienced. Now we did have George's Pond with a sandy beach but it wasn't like the beaches in California!Con Coates - Main Brook
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